Penal Rotary new president pledges to empower women

The new president of the Penal Rotary Club, Vijay Boochoon, has pledged to empower women and tackle mental health issues during his term of office.

The club is celebrating its 20th anniversary in service this year and Boochoon is committing to continue the legacy of service of his predecessors. He took over from outgoing president Deonarine Jaggernath during a virtual handing-over ceremony.

In his inaugural message, Boochoon acknowledged the many challenges faced by people in the club’s community due to the pandemic, and initiatives to confront and overcome these trials.

“Our plan is to work and assist them in getting back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

He said under his tenure he hopes to continue the Women of Power Project and to introduce a new gender-based violence project which identifies early symptoms of abuse and violence in the home and how to cope and recover.

The Women of Power Project was initiated by Rotarians Shawn and Mariam Boyce in collaboration with martial arts instructor Davenand Samaroo to teach women self-defence.

“This project which was designed to enable women to defend themselves was borne out of the recent attacks on women in our society. A gender-based violence committee headed by Rotarian Petronella Basdeo was initiated,” he said.

“We also plan to hold seminars, workshops and webinars on mental health issues which will be done with the assistance of many health professionals and religious organisations. These projects will include our Interact and Rotaract Clubs.”

In passing the baton to Boochoon, Jaggernauth said it was his pleasure to serve this astute organisation during the past Rotary year.

“The input by all members made my leadership extremely easy as they all ensured our goals were achieved and at times surpassed.”

He said while the pandemic has affected the world it allowed them to re-think the way in which they do things.

“Limited public interactions in our community did not prevent us from reaching out to the neediest. We responded at a moment’s notice to ensure some of their needs were met.”

Along with Boochoon, Karmalain Manohar was elected to serve as treasurer, Nadira Maharaj as secretary and Pamela Adimoolah as PRO. Dr Giselle Cumming was also inducted as a new member.

In her report, Adimoolah said the past year has been very challenging to service clubs around the globe, but the Rotary Club of Penal continued its efforts to provide service to the community.

Adimoolah said as schools switched to virtual learning, they provided laptops and tablets to needy students both at club and individual levels. Alongside this, their medical experts also mounted virtual platforms to present on diabetes and obesity to both students and parents.

Funds were raised to provide hampers to families in Penal and Barrackpore and the club was able to secure a district grant to purchase working tools and equipment to initiate an Odd Jobs Project.

Over 60 people registered for the programme and tools were loaned to them to create employment, reduce poverty and eventually start their own business.

A new Rotaract Club of Penal was also established through the initiative of past presidents Dr Akenath Misir, Jaggernauth and Manohar.

Awards were also presented posthumously to Balkrishna Pirmal for his pioneering work in Indian music and harmonium repairs and Indira Rameshwar Singh. Pirmal received the Vocational Service Award while Singh was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow Award on May 9.

The club also received several awards during the past year. These include a Five Star District Governor Citation award, Award for Excellence– Peace Project– Penal Rotaract Club, District Governor Special Recognition Award recommended by assistant district governor, and Zone 34 Public Image Citation Award.

Both Misir and Jaggernauth received a Paul Harris Society Member Award. Misir also received a Rotary Foundation Major Donor Award as well as a Hero Pin.